So, I know a lot of you have your method for fleshing beaver and you believe any exploration of alternative means is a waste...this thread is not for you LOL
I have grown accustomed to fleshing vertically (English style) and am trying to improve on that method specifically in regards to beaver.
This poses a few problems, one of which I believe I may have solved tonight...how to hold the hide in place on the beam if your belly is not available to serve this function.
Inspiration came in the form of a clothespin, and all that is required now is a couple of hay rake points for torsion springs.
Since beaver are skinned open, the "clamp" should not interfere with anything
All theory and requires testing of course

I got wood.

good luck,i tried buildin the better mousetrap for fleshing beaver too and ended up where i started

PCR I am prepared for it to amount to nothing.,. but nothing ventured, nothing gained

Well, if it fails, at least it looks like you have a nice sled. Or as you Canucks would call it, a car.

listen,i once built a beam so wide the handles of the fleshing knife almost touched on each side.2 swipes and i'd be done.that one is a nice workbench now though.

Worth trying and enough pressure on the bar/clamp/beaver holder should work. So English style is fleshing down right? Your already going to have what 6-12 inches of the beaver flipped over the end and under the bar. why not just grab the welding clamp and slap it on the end, move as required? How's it mounted? kind of curious about the whole set-up now.

finster, I bet it would zoom down a snow covered hill pretty good LOL, it's very slick

Something to try; trace the outline of the nose of the fleshing beam on a suitable size piece of wood. Then cut the outline. this is your "Clamp".

Mount this on the wall where you flesh, at a height you are comfortable with (eye level for me, the beam is 6' long.), so that beam will wedge the pelt in between the beam and the wooden "clamp" while the bottom of the beam is wedged to the floor at a slight angle to the wall.

As you finish fleshing an area just grab the middle of the beam and pull it out with one hand, then rotate the beaver with the other as needed. Then push (kick) the bottom back in to wedge the pelt and beam in again.

This works great with a wooden beam, you may need to fashion the bottom of the PVC to fit the floor so it will wedge in at the angle you want.

Lastly, I'm trying to imagine how the heck you hold the hide to the beam with your belly while fleshing vertical?

Wharton,
I believe what you are describing is similar to the "Blue English" system. I currently use something similar with the wood beam and it works great for raccoon but it is difficult to keep a beaver pelt from sliding around on the beam (since the pelt is not cased) and there really is not sufficient clamping pressure to make it work for beavers.

I probably didn't word it well above, but what I was saying was that if you are fleshing vertically you cannot use your belly - hence the need for a "clamp"

I also wanted to try a wider beam for beaver to see if it worked better. This is as much about trying something new, win or lose as it is about succeeding 100%